He knew he did not want to become an “average jeweler.” He did not want to turn into one of those people who work 50 grams of gold a week and sell some jewelry on Saturdays to pay off some debts and have a few beers during the weekend. He says that there are many jewelers of the sort in Mompox, but that you cannot discover the real art of Mompox filigree jewelry in their work.

He fills with pride when he tells the story of his father, Cayetano Pedrozo. The latter was one of the first jewelers who traveled to Antioquia in the 1980s to work with gold and improve his living conditions. He wished to move his family from the wattle and daub house where they lived into a solid one. With Cayetano, a Pedrozo legacy was established. Moreover, the family’s children, cousins, nieces, and nephews have honored it.

Johnnys remembers how much every family member worked at home: how they stayed up late and often worked through the night to fulfill the amount of orders they received. He kept telling himself he could not afford to fail at school because of the sacrifice everyone had to endure so he could study. His father taught him a lot of what he knows. He still remembers the time when he and ten other people worked on an order of one kilogram of filigree. To give you an idea of how much work went into this order, one earring weighs just about 5 grams.

His father also taught him to learn fast when he saw something of which he did not already know. One day, when someone ordered some “Chinese chains,” Cayetano sent Jhonnys to work out how to craft them. He clearly understood how to make the links that made up this ware: how to cut them with scissors and join up the ends. He was Don Cayetano’s student for ten years, but he perfected his skills with Oswaldo Herrera. The latter was a renowned jeweler he worked with for seven years. He can clearly recall the time when Mr. Herrera went to his father’s workshop and asked if he had a son who could help him with his work. It was the opportunity Cayetano had hoped his son would get one day. He knew that the best way to teach is to let go. He handed his son over to a teacher he knew would receive him well. The first task Johnnys was given at this new workshop was to make some rings. He gradually acquired knowledge and patience until Mr. Herrera told him that he was ready to open his own workshop. Oswaldo told his student the following words to give him the confidence to go on with his career without his help: “You have to do as I do, become as good as I am, and finally surpass me.”

Johnnys believes that he is still a long way away from reaching his teacher’s level of skill. Nonetheless, he is definitely aware that what he has achieved with his hands and colleagues is truly exceptional. He knows that people seek his hallmark: branches, palms, and animals. He is one of the few people who can truly capture what life is like in Mompox. It is a place he will never leave: a magical place that appears —as Gabriel García Márquez once put it— unreal, dreamlike.